BBC viewers were outraged as Gordon Ramsay’s new high-drama culinary show Future Food Stars debuted on Thursday evening.
The 55-year-old British chef returned to screens to hunt for the UK’s most innovative and exciting food and drink businesses, with a premise reminiscent of Lord Alan Sugar ’s The Apprentice.
But as Gordon searched for the next “Food Star” to invest in, he put his food entrepreneurs through their paces with a series of challenges, and during the first cooking challenge one team set a rather high price for a cheese toastie.
The Toast of the Town team, who pitched a stall on a Cornish beach to serve up toasties to beachgoing punters - but BBC viewers were left stunned that they had priced their humble cheese sandwiches at £8 a piece.
Taking to Twitter to react, one fan wrote: “Cheese toasted for £8. Some people have too much money at their disposal.”
Another posted: “Do you want to buy a cheese toastie for £8? No. I'm not mental.”
Another claimed: “£8 for a basic toastie? Do they not realise that the average Cornwall salary is £10k less than the rest of the UK?”
“I live an hour away from Newquay, and I can assure you that there’s more chance of Gordon Ramsay giving up swearing than this lot getting 8 quid for a toasted sandwich,” another tweeted.
One social media user wrote: “I would have to be starving to death to pay £8 for a toasted cheese sandwich!”
The team lowered their prices after Gordon mentioned the initial cost was too steep, but only to £7.
Earlier in the debut episode, Gordon made his entrance on the show by jumping from a helicopter into the open Cornwall sea waters to swim to shore, where his eager contestants awaited an introduction.
He then told the foodie contestants their first challenge would be to jump from a nearby cliff into the sea, leaving confused viewers wondering what the opening task had to do with cooking.
As BBC viewers took to Twitter, many compared the show to SAS Who Dares Wins and voiced their confusion, with one asking: “What's your ability to cook got to do with jumping off a cliff into the ocean?!”
Another quipped: “Gordon Ramsay seems to have mixed up his cooking show with SAS Who Dares Wins,” as a fellow viewer asked: “Did I sit on the remote and switch over to SAS Who Dares Wins or is this actually Future Food Stars?”
Another slammed the show, writing: “This is so silly. Your ability to run a business has nothing to do with whether you can jump off a cliff. It’s nothing to do with drive and passion. Surely not wanting to take an unnecessary risk would be more helpful?”
The contestants will have to make it to the competition final to secure Ramsay’s endorsement and a cash prize of £150,000.
Each task the contestants face on Future Food Stars is designed to test their character and showcase their business skills.
